Casual Gaming Rising In Popularity
Casual gaming, most especially among women is on the rise. And even though Nickelodeon’s plans include expansion into other markets, there is an interesting shift happening that is starting to draw a variety of demographics. The shift includes seeing a trend in creating games centered around current events and news. The idea is that if the games are centered around things like this, it will promote social awareness and change, as well as help educate people.
The big shots are starting to shift their thinking in game creation. Instead of looking at a game as a product that gets created, sold and shipped they are looking at it instead as a media that is consumed, much in the way television is, except it has an interactive twist.
Take Nickelodeon. They have produced some games that have gone on to become viral hits, and many are games that spoof on current events, and promote awareness of culture. Gaming is now being tied into pop culture, and sending gaming out of the category of product and into the category of mass media instead.
News centered games are created around a sensitive subject and designed to provoke thought. Usually they are created within two to four days, and a sleepless night or two. Costs for development can run the range of very cheap, to pretty darn expensive. But budgets are growing because advertisers are starting to jump on the bandwagon, so developers are able to invest more in the content of the games.
Stats show that online gaming sites went from 67 million in December of 2007 to 86 million in December 2008. Even casual games like Solitaire and Tetris have surged up in popularity for many users. Instead of games being something only the gaming geeks did, online games are becoming more and more prevalent and a staple of the new pop culture and it’s habits, especially with the mobility now of the Internet. Who knew?
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